Philips Rivers says his best football is ahead of him

Philips Rivers says his best football is ahead of himBy Tom Krasovic11:21 A.M. JUNE 7, 2013

As good as he once was, Philip Rivers says the best is yet to come.

"I think my best football is ahead of me, I really do," Rivers said, via USA Today. "That's being optimistic, because we've had a lot of really good years. I am probably on the second half of my career, the back end, but I think I've got a lot of good football left.

"To me, the bad is always magnified (more) than the good, and there has been some bad. But there has been a heck of a lot of good."

My view is that Rivers, 31, should be able to regain his own peak form because when he was at his best, he didn't rely heavily on attributes that age tends to erode, notably arm strength and footspeed. What makes Rivers still more capable than average quarterbacks is his quick release, his accuracy, and his ability to read defenses. Although he is moving past the typical peak years for athleticism, those strengths should remain if he is able to stay healthy and fit.

But Rivers is playing a team sport, not tennis or golf. As a quarterback, his performance is affected by the blocking and the playmakers around him. If the blocking proves unreliable, do his confidence and footwork suffer? Maybe not in June. But during recent seasons, the roster decay seemed to affect him.

Will the Chargers surround him with as much talent as they did from 2006-09, when he was at his best? I'm skeptical that they can. I see a lot of promise in the receiving corps, provided it can stay healthy. But at every level of the offense, Rivers used to work with high-level talent. To pick just one example, Antonio Gates in his prime was one of the best receiving tight ends in NFL history. Put another way, Rivers may need to be at his best for the Chargers to even approach their best football of 2006-09.